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All second-round matches will conclude on Day 3 of the 2024 Barcelona Open.
Rafael Nadal's triumphant return overshadowed everything else on Tuesday. Competing in just his second tournament of the year and his first on clay since the 2022 French Open, the Spaniard cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 win over Flavio Cobolli in his opener.
Nadal, a 12-time champion at the Barcelona Open, will next take on World No. 11 Alex de Minaur. Andrey Rublev's poor run of form continued as he slumped to a 6-4, 7-6 (6) defeat against Brandon Nakashima.
Cameron Norrie, Matteo Arnaldi, and Tomas Martin Etcheverry were some of the other winners on Tuesday. More players will now aim to join them in the third round. With that in mind, here's a look at the predictions for some key matches set for Day 3 of the Barcelona Open.
#1 - Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Sebastian Ofner
Tsitsipas was having a rather average season but it all changed once he stepped foot on clay. He defeated Casper Ruud in the final of last week's Monte-Carlo Masters to reign supreme at the venue for the third time in four years. He also returned to the top 10 of the rankings after his latest triumph.
Tsitsipas also scored wins over Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner en route to the title. He became only the second player after Carlos Alcaraz to beat the Italian this season.
While Tsitsipas received a bye into the second round, Ofner staged a comeback to defeat Pavel Kotov 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 to reach this far. The Austrian's journey is likely to conclude now.
Ofner has never defeated a top-10 player in his career. He's 0-5 against them on clay and 0-8 overall. Tsitsipas is a three-time finalist at the Barcelona Open and is in great form at the moment. The Greek can be counted on to advance further based on his recent results.
Predicted winner: Stefanos Tsitsipas
#2 - Casper Ruud vs Alexandre Muller
Ruud has been one of the most in-form players this season but sadly doesn't have the silverware to show for it. He reached the final of the Los Cabos Open and the Mexican Open but lost to Jordan Thompson and Alex de Minaur, respectively.
Ruud's clay swing began at the Estoril Open, where he was the defending champion. He was stunned by World No. 77 Pedro Martinez in the semifinals. He then reached the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters and even defeated World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.
It marked Ruud's first win over a top-three player. However, he came up short in yet another big final and lost to Tsitsipas. As one of the top seeds at the Barcelona Open, he received a first-round bye as well.
Muller faced Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the first round here and scored a 7-6 (4), 6-0 win over him. It was just his fifth win of the season and snapped a three-match losing streak as well.
Muller has faced off against top 10 players four times in the past and lost in straight sets on all occasions. Given his results and Ruud's form, the latter should be able to begin his Barcelona Open campaign with a win.
Predicted winner: Casper Ruud
#3 - Ugo Humbert vs Dusan Lajovic
Lajovic bested former top 10 player Diego Schwartzman 6-1, 6-2 in the first round of the Barcelona Open. It was his eighth win of the year and fifth on clay. He previously made it to the last eight of the Argentina Open and the Rio Open, both clay court tournaments, in February.
Humbert has won a couple of titles this year and started the clay swing with a quarterfinal finish at the Monte-Carlo Masters. The Frenchman received a bye into the second round of the Barcelona Open.
Clay is Lajovic's preferred surface as he has won both of his titles on it. Additionally, of his 19 wins over top 20 players, 11 have been on clay. Humbert, meanwhile, has a 12-24 record on the surface.
If the Frenchman isn't dialed in right from the start, he could find it difficult to get back into the match later on given Lajovic's prowess on the surface. Humbert did show a lot of improvement on clay given how he competed at the Monte-Carlo Masters. If he's able to maintain the same form, he should be able to deal with the Serb.
Predicted winner: Ugo Humbert
#4 - Lorenzo Musetti vs Roberto Carballes Baena
Musetti has been inconsistent this season and has compiled a 9-11 record so far. He didn't make a great start to his clay swing as he lost his opener at the Estoril Open.
Musetti raised his level at the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he made it to the third round and lost to Djokovic. He was the recipient of a first-round bye at the Barcelona Open as well.
Carballes Baena had a slow start to the year but found his footing at the Grand Prix Hassan II. He made it to the final there but lost to former top 10 player Matteo Berrettini in straight sets.
Carballes Baena knocked out lucky loser Hugo Grenier to advance to the second round of the Barcelona Open. The Spaniard as well as Musetti are quite adept at playing on clay. Given their up-and-down season so far, this match could go either way. The Italian's the favorite based on his ranking, though it wouldn't be too much of a shock if he failed to make it through.
Predicted winner: Lorenzo Musetti
